Nine leaders of the 2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests have each been found guilty of vague and ambiguous “public nuisance” related charges. They were convicted solely on the basis of their peaceful participation in the Umbrella Movement protests. They indicated that they will appeal, to prevent the government from referring to the conviction to prosecute other activists or further deter peaceful protests advocating dissenting views. The conviction of these nine prominent figures of the Umbrella Movement is likely to have a chilling effect on freedom of peaceful assembly and expression in Hong Kong.
